@[Diderik:33655] "Your a holiday!" Was a popular term used in the 50s/60s to compliment someone on their all around. For example, not only are they beautiful, but they are fun and kind too ... just an all around "holiday".
I think your first comment is closer to being accurate. The singer/song writers state "Millions of eyes can see, yet why am i so blind!? When the someone else is me, its unkind its unkind". I believe hes referring to the girl toying with him and using him. He wants something deeper with her, thats why he allows himself to be as a puppet (even though for her fun and games) as long as it makes her happy. But he knows deep down that she doesnt really want to be serious with him and thats what makes him.
Now and then I think of when we were together,
Like when you said you felt so happy you could die,
Told myself that you were right for me,
But felt so lonely in your company,
But that was love and it's an ache I still remember.
You can get addicted to a certain kind of sadness,
Like resignation to the end,
Always the end,
So when we found that we could not make sense,
Well you said that we would still be friends,
But I'll admit that I was glad that it was over.
But you didn't have to cut me off,
Make out like it never happened,
And that now we're nothing,
And I don't even need your love,
But you treat me like a stranger,
And that feels so rough,
No you didn't have to stoop so low,
Have your friends collect your records,
And then change your number,
I guess that I don't need that though,
Now you're just somebody that I used to know,
Now your just somebody that I used to know,
Now your just somebody that I used to know,
Now your just somebody that I used to know.
Now and then I think of all the times you screwed me over
But had me believing it was always something that I'd done
And I don't wanna live that way
Reading into every word you say
You said that you could let it go
And I wouldn't catch you hung up on somebody that you used to know...
But you didn't have to cut me off,
Make out like it never happened,
And that now were nothing,
And I don't even need your love,
But you treat me like a stranger,
And that feels so rough.
No you didn't have to stoop so low,
Have your friends collect your records,
And then change your number,
I guess that I don't need that though,
Now you're just somebody that I used to know,
Somebody,
I used to know,
Somebody,
Now your just somebody that I used to know,
Somebody,
I used to know,
Somebody,
Now your just somebody that I used to know,
I used to know
That I used to know
Somebody
Like when you said you felt so happy you could die,
Told myself that you were right for me,
But felt so lonely in your company,
But that was love and it's an ache I still remember.
You can get addicted to a certain kind of sadness,
Like resignation to the end,
Always the end,
So when we found that we could not make sense,
Well you said that we would still be friends,
But I'll admit that I was glad that it was over.
But you didn't have to cut me off,
Make out like it never happened,
And that now we're nothing,
And I don't even need your love,
But you treat me like a stranger,
And that feels so rough,
No you didn't have to stoop so low,
Have your friends collect your records,
And then change your number,
I guess that I don't need that though,
Now you're just somebody that I used to know,
Now your just somebody that I used to know,
Now your just somebody that I used to know,
Now your just somebody that I used to know.
Now and then I think of all the times you screwed me over
But had me believing it was always something that I'd done
And I don't wanna live that way
Reading into every word you say
You said that you could let it go
And I wouldn't catch you hung up on somebody that you used to know...
But you didn't have to cut me off,
Make out like it never happened,
And that now were nothing,
And I don't even need your love,
But you treat me like a stranger,
And that feels so rough.
No you didn't have to stoop so low,
Have your friends collect your records,
And then change your number,
I guess that I don't need that though,
Now you're just somebody that I used to know,
Somebody,
I used to know,
Somebody,
Now your just somebody that I used to know,
Somebody,
I used to know,
Somebody,
Now your just somebody that I used to know,
I used to know
That I used to know
Somebody
Lyrics submitted by 60_miles_an_hour, edited by PoonKnows, Nemo123
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More Featured Meanings
Holiday
Bee Gees
Bee Gees
Dreamwalker
Silent Planet
Silent Planet
I think much like another song “Anti-Matter” (that's also on the same album as this song), this one is also is inspired by a horrifying van crash the band experienced on Nov 3, 2022. This, much like the other track, sounds like it's an extension what they shared while huddled in the wreckage, as they helped frontman Garrett Russell stem the bleeding from his head wound while he was under the temporary effects of a concussion. The track speaks of where the mind goes at the most desperate & desolate of times, when it just about slips away to all but disconnect itself, and the aftermath.
Plastic Bag
Ed Sheeran
Ed Sheeran
“Plastic Bag” is a song about searching for an escape from personal problems and hoping to find it in the lively atmosphere of a Saturday night party. Ed Sheeran tells the story of his friend and the myriad of troubles he is going through. Unable to find any solutions, this friend seeks a last resort in a party and the vanity that comes with it.
“I overthink and have trouble sleepin’ / All purpose gone and don’t have a reason / And there’s no doctor to stop this bleedin’ / So I left home and jumped in the deep end,” Ed Sheeran sings in verse one. He continues by adding that this person is feeling the weight of having disappointed his father and doesn’t have any friends to rely on in this difficult moment. In the second verse, Ed sings about the role of grief in his friend’s plight and his dwindling faith in prayer. “Saturday night is givin’ me a reason to rely on the strobe lights / The lifeline of a promise in a shot glass, and I’ll take that / If you’re givin’ out love from a plastic bag,” Ed sings on the chorus, as his friend turns to new vices in hopes of feeling better.
Somewhere Only We Know
Keane
Keane
Per the FAQ on Keane's website, Keane's drummer Richard Hughes, stated the following:
"We've been asked whether "Somewhere Only We Know" is about a specific place, and Tim has been saying that, for him, or us as individuals, it might be about a geographical space, or a feeling; it can mean something individual to each person, and they can interpret it to a memory of theirs... It's perhaps more of a theme rather than a specific message... Feelings that may be universal, without necessarily being totally specific to us, or a place, or a time..."
With the nostalgic sentiment and the overall tone of the song, I think Keane is attempting to express a Portuguese term known as 'saudade', which does not have a direct English translation but roughly means "that which we remember because it is gone."
Zombie
Cranberries, The
Cranberries, The
"Zombie" is about the ethno-political conflict in Ireland. This is obvious if you know anything of the singer (Dolores O'Riordan)'s Irish heritage and understood the "1916" Easter Rising reference.
"Another head hangs lowly
Child is slowly taken
And the violence caused such silence
Who are we mistaken
-
Another mother's breaking
Heart is taking over"
Laments the Warrington bomb attacks in which two children were fatally injured on March 23rd, 1993. Twelve year old Tim Parry was taken off life support with permission from his mother after five days in the hospital, virtually braindead.
"But you see it's not me
It's not my family"
References how people who are not directly involved with the violence feel about it. They are "zombies" without sympathy who refuse to take action while others suffer.
To me, this song is about clinging onto an illusion of the perfect person, the 'person that you used to know'. After discovering that you had in fact put them on a pedastal, and that they never were that perfect person, you are still unable to let them go because your illusions clash with reality and it is a never ending struggle between accepting who they are- and who you thought they were.
"You said that you could let it go And I wouldn't catch you hung up on somebody that you used to know..."
It is about that tiny little fibre in your body that cannot erase the memory of them, and that tiny little fibre is what causes most of the conflict: your voice speaks and says that you would never be hung up over this person, and yet, the entire song is dedicated to the memory of that person and the damage they have caused you. so you ARE, after all, hung up on them...and that is the contrast between your voice (voice of reason) and your heart (with which your true feelings lie)....I think that might be why there is such a huge play on body parts in the video clip...and how each body part is colored differently...it represents all the different thoughts in your mind that are contradicting each other.
I think that you have made a great point...he is caught up on his illusion of the perfect person. He wanted so badly for this girl to be his everything, although she wasn't and the relationship wasn't meant to be. Who gets caught up with someone whom he feels "so lonely" in her company and is glad when it is over? He starts to paint himself and her in the same colors, trying so desperately for this to work and for her to be what he wants her to be.<br /> <br /> It seems like during the relationship, she was tired of being put on that pedestal and tired of being expected to be his perfect someone. She "found that we could not make sense" and didn't want to deal with the pain and sadness of trying to be perfect for him any longer. I think the colors coming off of her at the end of the song is here breaking out of his perfect girl mold...becoming herself once again.
I personally think you nailed it.
I really don't know how you managed to get that impression. There was nothing in the song that mentioned anyone being on a pedestal or would imply that they were idealized into some perfect form. Nor, was there any mention about any kind of clash between illusion and reality.
Actually there is an illusion with the music video. They are being painted to give the illusion they blend in to an abstract background. So I agree with missxt. I think you completely nailed the story behind the song.
agree on the mix up between illusion and reality. oh my.
you couldnt have explained it any better!! since hearing it the first time that's what it meant to me
I really can't argue with your interpretation so I'll just add to it. The first verse is just his 20/20 hindsight on the relationship well before the breakup and how he deluded himself. The line "told myself you were right for me" is the prime example of his delusion along with his association of love as an aching feeling instead of that feeling just being a bad vibe for him. <br /> <br /> The second verse sounds like his feelings towards the end of the relationship just before the breakup occurred. The addiction to sadness shows how negative feelings have become so common place in this relationship that it is hard to separate it from the two people involved. The last three lines of this verse is just his break from delusion and him finally finding some relief in the end of the relationship til . . .<br /> <br /> The chorus of course is his post breakup feelings and how things were handled. This is where the song can go for a great twist by having the person singing this part doing it as a solemn sort of begging or as a quiet pain in that they are hurt by the fact that they are hardly even a foot note in the other person's life.<br /> <br /> The third verse is great in showing how the pain and sacrifice in the relationship didn't just belong to the first person (assuming that this is being done as a duet). It demonstrates the same signs of delusion, compromise, and sacrifice that the first two verses illustrate and the eventual realization how it isn't meant to work out. <br /> <br /> This third verse can also explain the current coupling as a result from a previous one. How he made her believe that she had done something wrong and how he was still clinging to the idea of another person from his past that he sees her as. <br /> <br /> The chorus of course is the same but it can be done in a slightly different way. Instead of singing it in a quiet and saddened way, the person can sing it as a mad, painful rant as if he's trying to defend himself in an intense argument.
Are you guys seriously this in love with this comment? This song isn't about the 'perfect person.'<br /> <br /> "Told myself that you were right for me<br /> But felt so lonely in your company"<br /> <br /> He knew all along she wasn't the perfect person. He's bemoaning the fact that even though they both spoke about how they would remain friends after the break up she's an entirely different person, somebody that he used to know...
I agree with the replies who disagree with you. There is no lyrical evidence whatsoever that the girl was put on a pedestal. <br /> <br /> The only part that you quote to defend your interpretation is 'person that you used to know' -- this saying does not have to imply that one thought that their loved one was 'more perfect before than now.'<br /> <br /> 'Somebody that I used to know' is a common idiom, saying or phrase with a specific meaning. It is clear that it is merely referring to the fact that one person really meant a lot to the other person, but after breaking up they aren't nearly as significant, they are just 'somebody that __ used to know.' <br /> <br /> In regard to the rest of your interpretation:<br />
Wow you got right on it, that's exceptionally perception, from one whom has been through that and was able to concur that somebody. I Love this song, it speaks of my current relationship. to the letter. i love your comments on that. thanks for sharing.
@missxt This interpretation is far fetched.
Kimbra's whole part in this song starting from "Now and then I think of all the times you screwed me over" does so much for me. It takes the idea that the lead singer has been victimized and completely turns it on it's end. After Kimbra's verse I feel like I can really hear Gotye becoming more defensive and questioning his side of the story. He isn't just a victim, he has to defend his actions which gives the song so much more depth than if it was just another singer complaining about how his ex ruined him.
Really fantastically done!
I totally agree, that was the turning point in the song. I love it, it is such a great song.
Agreed. The song is clever in the way that it sets the audience up to feel sympathetic towards Gotye, but then this realisation that he screwed up shifts out empathy onto Kimbra. I love that Kimbra's response to Gotye's defense is just as powerful without words.
Remember that her reply isn't necessarily the truth, it's just her side of the story. Maybe they are equally blameless, or equally to blame, but it's not clear that she in fact is right. It sounds like they both did things wrong, and out of that we get a really good song out of it. Although I do agree it's clever that her perspective differs from that of the other verses and the chorus, very nice.
I agree with you, he is more defensive and it seems to me like he was crying inside, he wants her back, but he don't want to change his mind and admit he has his fault too. He always repeat again his "song" when she is trying to tell him something or explain and he uses it everytime he fells danger.. (As when he is singing the chorus for the second time, she is singing only the voice without text, like it is all he hears, when she is talking, because he wants to prove he is the only right one.) The second thing I would like to add is, that he is like bound to his background - wall - and he is maybe to proud to make a responsive step. But inside he would like to (we can call it heart), but the bound to his statements won't let him (let's call it brain). For all the time song lasts, he doesn't move even a little.
I agree with what you pointed out FoodandLiquor. Kimbra's words back to Gotye have everyone suddenly feeling empathy towards Kimbra but I do feel there may be more to the story too. For example the idea "he felt lonely in her company" leads me to think she would neglect him or that she wouldn't talk to him. But then you hear her saying "I don't want to live that way, reading into every word that you say" and you start to wonder if she's shutting down (not talking) because she's sick of Gotye accusing her or his blaming her for he did whatever he did to her. It would be interesting to know if Kimbra wasn't communicating enough before the arguments started or if she started to shut down "after" Gotye started arguing/blaming her. Anyhow it does sound as if both people were to blame with Gotye being more guilty (at fault) than Kimbra was. What a song :) You make some good points too Kalimka ;)
Wow, very insightful!
Elcheeserpuff was right on, I believe with the meaning. He was hurt so much before, that when he was in the relationship with Kimbra that he wasn't even right, and then she told him what he told her "you said that you could let it go, and I wouldn't catch you hanging on to somebody that you use to know" and then he gets more aggressive with her. He was directing the last part to her, "You didn't have to cut me off" You didn't have to do what the other girl did to me too. <br /> <br /> You can see his facial expression when she started singing, it was more of your point is not making sense, you didn't have to leave me like that. Then when he started to sing the chorus towards her, his face goes into more of a 'that's not a good enough reason'or 'you didn't have to do it in that way' face. Its wrong how she changed her number, and had her friends pick up her stuff, she just left him, and wanted nothing to do with him, she just made it see, like she forgot him like it was easy. <br /> <br /> And its not the fact that he still loves her, that's bothering him, its the fact that she moved on like he didn't mean anything to her and then Kimbra did the same thing.
@elcheeserpuff i actually felt more bad for him after her part. all he wanted to know was why she was lying and pretended to want to be friends. that it hurts him that she doesnt acknoeledge him. he doesnt seem to be shying away from responsibility and keeps saying how he convinced himself to be happy, and was trying to ignore the problems. she shows up and immediately blames him and doesnt bother taking responsibility. it takes two to tango, and she seemed to want to be the victim.
@elcheeserpuff i actually felt more bad for him after her part. all he wanted to know was why she was lying and pretended to want to be friends. that it hurts him that she doesn't acknowledge him. he doesn't seem to be shying away from responsibility and keeps saying how he convinced himself to be happy, and was trying to ignore the problems. she shows up and immediately blames him and doesn't bother taking responsibility. it takes two to tango, and she seemed to want to be the victim.
I think this song is two perspectives.
A man thinking about an old relationship. He fell in love with her, even thought it wasn't perfect. He knew that, but tried to convince himself otherwise. Later, we discover that things didn't work out.
He was addicted to the sadness of the situation. Or of her. Or both. The idea that he knew it was doomed. And that is what made him stay in the relationship.
And then they discovered this wasn't going to work. She said that they could still be friends. And he was relieved, because finally, the expected ending had arrived. Finally, what he was waiting for, had been anticipating this entire relationship, had happened. They were over.
Ah, but why?
As she tells us, now and then she thinks off all the time he screwed her over. Times he went to see the ex-girlfriend. The one he still thought of, even though it was doomed, and did end. This woman realizes that, while she wants him, he was still hung up on another girl. Still thought of her. Missed her. Maybe even compared the two. Her and the last girl. She and somebody that he used to know. So she has this sadness with her. And he sees that this relationship is doomed. But he still can't stop dwelling on the ex-girlfriend. So what does she do? She dumps him. She doesn't want to see him at all. Doesn't want to hear from him. Has friends pick up her stuff. Just like the last girl did.
And this triggers something in him. Now he wants her. He forgets the last ex-girlfriend. He can't understand why this one doesn't want anything to do with him. Why does she avoid him when he sees her out with friends? How come she doesn't respond to his texts? Why has she become just somebody that he used to know?
And so the cycle continues.
Our hero, forever pining after a love that he will never receive because it is always too late; loving somebody that he used to know.
Exactly what I was thinking - a sick cycle. <br /> <br /> Absolutely awesome, though. The lyrics, music and voices... so beautiful.
Great interpretation! The cycle hits us in reality more often than we'd like, but such is life, unfortunately...or people i should say. :)<br /> <br /> Cheers.
''As she tells us, now and then she thinks off all the time he screwed her over. Times he went to see the ex-girlfriend. The one he still thought of, even though it was doomed, and did end. This woman realizes that, while she wants him, he was still hung up on another girl. Still thought of her. Missed her. Maybe even compared the two. Her and the last girl. She and somebody that he used to know. So she has this sadness with her. And he sees that this relationship is doomed. But he still can't stop dwelling on the ex-girlfriend. So what does she do? She dumps him. She doesn't want to see him at all. Doesn't want to hear from him. Has friends pick up her stuff. Just like the last girl did.''<br /> <br /> i don't get why people keep referring to the singers fixation with another ex girlfriend,the 'somebody i used to know' is the ex girlfriend who ignores him,theres no 3rd party,its all based on two people and no other relationship.
everyone can look at this song in their own way. But i agree with billythepub, this song is btwn 2 people, no 3rd party at all in the song. Atleast thats how i see it. it's good there are more ways to see the song though. that way more can relate.
Of course there is/are another/others. She was screwed over by the boy. That involved a past gal. She gave him multiple chances. He failed because she was not the one. He's hung up on somebody he used to know, and that ain't her.
There is no ex-girlfriend, it's so much clearer than taking third party into the song. It's just how the girl used to be or how he used to think of her. Now she wants to forget about him. Come on, NO EX in this song!
@rscofield Had trouble piecing together all of the lyrics into words, so I came here, but I think you nailed it. <br /> <br /> Also, if you watch the video, it matches this. The man starts out being unpainted - he is free and happy. As he starts talking about the relationship, he becomes enmeshed in the background (the relationship and/or his emotions). The colors are red (anger) and grey (sadness). The girl starts out painted as well, but she is also green (jealousy). She leaves the trap of the relationship, becomes free and unpainted, but he is still trapped in the background of his emotions.<br /> <br /> I've been here. Pining over a lost relationship that I remembered as being perfect and never moving on. Eventually life goes on and you discover something great, but this song perfectly captures that time.
@rscofield I see this song as working on multiple levels. At first I thought it was Kimbra he was alluding to and she was answering him. Then I realized Kimbra was telling him how he did the same thing to her. I see him in his own pain have a momentary glimmer of understanding then again is engulfed in his pain. Irony and the faults we see in others reflected in ourselves without our own knowledge or understanding. His voice, the imagery, the lyrics, Kimbra, a truly beautiful and strangely haunting song.
ABOUT:
The lyrical interpretation seems pretty straightforward to me, and thus I don't think it is worth dissecting. The video, however, is much deeper. So I've decided that I'm going to analyze the video in this essay.
VIDEO INTERPRETATION (in chronological order):
Notice how Gotye blends into the mosaic art because he is completely painted (well, except for his right cheek, which I'll talk about later in this essay). He blends in because the video is trying to metaphorically depict someone who blends into a crowd, who doesn't stand out anymore to their loved one, after they end a relationship with that loved one.
Naked to Painted
Gotye the Statue
Kimbra's Turning Stare
Kimbra and Gotye's Unpainted Halves of their Face
The unpainted back of Kimbra should be seen as a separate theme and unrelated to this metaphor.
Kimbra Walks Towards Gotye
Gotye and Kimbra Turning Their Heads Towards Each Other
It also represents how one can never completely cut their loved one from their memory. To support this, notice how Gotye's unpainted side turns almost randomly towards towards the viewer and back -- the video is trying to illustrate that Gotye is still not merely 'somebody that -she- used to know' in spite of Kimbra's efforts to forget Gotye. This is because the memories of Gotye sporadically fade in and out of her mind, even when she doesn't want to remember some of those memories. Likewise, Kimbra is not always a stranger (or 'somebody that -he- used to know') because her unpainted side turns back towards Gotye several times in the video.
8*. But then why is Kimbra walking towards and away from Gotye instead of Gotye walking towards and away from her?
Accordingly, since Kimbra's back loses her paint near the end, this represents how she really, really ceases to become a stranger to Gotye. Again, this is because her back had a lot of paint on it (thus, she was almost always just a person in the crowd to Gotye) and then it faded, so she is now not just a person in the crowd (or 'somebody that -he- used to know) to Gotye. What does this all mean? See the End analysis below.
Kimbra sees Gotye as just 'somebody that -she- used to know,' a mere face in the crowd (i.e. mosaic). Again, the reason is because only a bit of Gotye's face is unpainted. She will remember him from time to time, but he isn't that important to her anymore. It is somewhat tragic for Kimbra because she tried to resolve things between them -- she didn't think that she cut off Gotye as harshly as he puts it.
Gotye, at the end of the video however, does not see Kimbra as just 'somebody that -he- used to know.' She stands out in the mosaic -- if Gotye ever saw Kimbra in a crowd, she would stand out immediately because he misses the relationship that much more.
The lyrics defend this argument:
"You said that you could let it go And I wouldn't catch you hung up on somebody that you used to know"
Kimbra thought that Gotye would have been able to get over the breakup. She was clearly wrong as seen by Gotye's response in the next verse:
"But you treat me like a stranger and that feels so rough"
I would argue that Gotye is in denial. It seems like he has gotten over the break-up...
Gotye: "I guess that I don't need that (*'that' refers to her love) though"
...but notice how he says 'I guess.' This likely represents Gotye's uncertainty and lack of confidence in his claim (i.e. that he has gotten over the relationship).
BONUSES
At the end, both Gotye and Kimbra say 'somebody' in a fading out tone. Since they are looking at each other and their unpainted sides are shown to the viewer, they are both probably reflecting about each other (like I have argued throughout the essay.)
When Gotye counters Kimbra in the last verse, Kimbra is making an 'uhhhhh/ahhhhh' noise. That represents how whenever she remembers his argument ('But you didn't have to cut me off...'), it bothers her because Gotye claimed that he was going to get over the relationship, yet he hasn't.
Feel free to argue against my analysis of the video if you have good reasons to back your claim up. Just state that you're replying to my interpretation.
Also I didn't spend that much time on this (I probably only spent like 1-2 hours) so if I missed anything feel free to add things that may supplement my interpretation.
Also if you liked my interpretation give it a thumbs up! (Or a thumbs down of course if you didn't like it).
EDIT: Gotye's face in fact is painted (white!) on the right side. My mistake! This still doesn't affect my argument. What this shows is that Gotye is even more of a stranger to Kimbra than I had previously thought! Haha! <br /> <br /> Still, when he turns his head left it sticks out of the mosaic just like Kimbra's does. So I don't think my #5 is completely wrong.
Interesting interpretation! I like how you likened a mosaic to being mostly straight lines and how when she says "reading in to every word you say" is like she has to read between the lines? Maybe that is why his cheek is painted white and her's is bare because she always remains honest, maybe? But, a mosaic can also be created by breaking something into fragments and then reassembling the pieces to create something different. I have no idea.<br /> <br /> Anywho, nice interpretation and while this song is popular, hopefully it will open the airwaves to other Gotye songs because they are pretty good!
I really liked your interpretation of the video side of this song. However, I think the song itself is important to discerning the subtler meanings. I'll admit that I didn't scour all of the replies, but I did not see thus far anybody mentioning a few points.<br /> <br />
@mercownzya "Kimbra sees Gotye as just 'somebody that -she- used to know,' a mere face in the crowd (i.e. mosaic). "<br /> i dont understand how the mosaic represents kimbra no longer seeing Gotye. he has the mosaic on most of the video, and yet she still sees him, and is still affected by their relationship. so much that she is trying to argue with him until the end and keeps looking his way. if what you are saying is true, he would have been painted at the end when she doesnt see him anymore.
@mercownzya Love your interpretation, only thing I can add is the depth of how it seems throughout the relationship he didn't listen to hear so she said very little and even when she has her say he doesn't listen and talks over her
I am in love with this song. The film clip is something special, too. Kimbra's voice complements Gotye's perfectly. The chorus is so heart-wrenching and full of emotion. If this is any indication of what the rest of Gotye's upcoming album is going to be like, then I'll be one happy fan!
Agreed. I too am in love with this song. On it's own it is an amazing song, and with the video clip it is incredibly moving. This is art.
perhaps, someone whom you were once very close to and then you grew apart.
He's a narcissist, and the pattern represents his "reality". She loses the pattern after she asserts her own moral fiber. It's interesting how at first you sympathize with him, but as the song progresses you realize he's not the victim.
It's about narcissism.
I dont think so. <br /> <br />
I don't think this is about regretting a break up, I think this song is about how after breaking up, he wanted to be friends and she won't acknowledge him anymore. And that hurts worse than anything, being blatantly ignored after you've shared so much and loved someone so much. The person he left turned into someone he used to know, he has no idea who this person is anymore, stooping so low that they won't meet with him or talk to him or anything. The person changed their number so he couldn't call them or have any sort of communication with them, and he wouldn't have thought they'd be like that. But then the song gives it from her point of view, that she is hurting and pissed and doesn't want to have anything to do with him because she dislikes how he views her now.
I totally agree with the regretting a break-up portion. I think a lot of times people have an issue letting go of their ex's after a break-up. The whole idea of "we'll still be friends" is common, but destructive. You can be on friendly terms without being close and staying in touch. It's a very rare situation that the break-up can be truly amicable and end with friendship. Most of the time, it's lop-sided, with one partner wanting the relationship to stay together. If a "friendship" is kept, that partner is constantly torturing themselves with hope of what could have been.<br /> <br /> To me, in these lyrics, he's acting childishly and she's handling it like an adult. She won't spit in his face if they run into each other, but she's not going to continue to torture herself with contact. A clean break it best, even if it's the most painful, and he's too obsessed to see that.
Totally agree with altari. Seems like he's self-importantly clinging on to his ideals whilst trying to drag down this girl who's just trying to move on after he screwed her over. He's trying to victimise himself but she won't take it, and her response is what makes this song so brilliant xD
Totally agree. This song is not hard to interpret.
I love how this song shows two sides of the breakup. The guy from the get go felt that there was something missing, but didn't really let on that this was a chronic state for him and that he really didn't think they had a future. The girl felt totally fulfilled by him and guilty that he wasn't getting the same out of it, feeling like somehow it was her fault, that he was blaming her for his being unhappy. When she realized that all this time he'd been hiding his disconnect, the whole thing must have felt like a sham to her. The kind of love she thought he had for her was never there, and it made her feel used and foolish, and she wanted to distance herself from the situation. He didn't mean it as a charade, though. He really wanted it to be love and considers it unfair of her to punish him for not being able to connect better. He doesn't like being made out to be the bad guy any more than she did.
Thank you...
You captured exactly what I was thinking!
I agree that Gotye blending into the mosiac is about his feeling of loss of significance, and Kimbra's emergence from the paint is her standing out for Gotye. I also agree that the song depicts the personal reflections of Gotye and Kimbra -- they are not literally arguing face to face, but rather monologing.
However, I would argue that Gotye is /not/ over the relationship and is only now coming to terms with the blow of the break-up. The subtext is brilliant.
He expresses no understanding that Kimbra had been feeling hurt in their relationship for a long time. In fact, all he talks about are his own feelings -- alienation, unhappiness, resignation -- oblivious to the indubtible impact of his animosity on Kimbra. When Kimbra proposed their break-up after enduring his unhappiness it was very serious for her -- for Gotye, it was just a nebulous sigh of relief. ("Well you said that we would still be friends, But I'll admit that I was glad that it was over") Even when Kimbra expresses that she wants out of the relationship, he still fails to fully emotionally engage in Kimbra or their relationship. Demoting their relationship to a friendship works perfectly for him.
The break-up was much harder on Kimbra. She'd been battling alone for their relationship for a while and then when she became exaspirated, he didn't even seem to mind their conclusion. Angry and hurt, she distanced herself. Gotye is stunned by the severity of her reaction. Only when Kimbra stops letting Gotye walk all over her does she emerge from environmental noise/mosiac to become a whole entity for Gotye.
We hear Gotye use the phrase "somebody that I used to know" in his own monologue, but it's clear from Kimbra's use that he doesn't always employ his sentimental, introspective tone with that phrase. After breaking final ties (having friends retrieve her things, changing her number) he inflicted that term on her as retaliation for her 'cutting him out.' Kimbra throws his words back in his face: "You said that you could let it go, and I wouldn't catch you hung up on somebody that you used to know." When Gotye was finally confronted with the wound of her absence he reacted with anger instead of compassion. With a boy's wounded pride, Gotye chastizes Kimbra's emotionality, cruelly implying that she's beneath him because she just can't get over their break-up, and that the intensity of her reaction is innappropriate. Meanwhile he's tormented by her distance.
The title phrase's meaning performs a spectacularly poetic piroutte from dismissive apathy into an explosive, aching wist.
It is the best analysis of a song I have ever heard. Brilliant. Just absolutely brilliant. Thank you.
I think that your interpretation hits the nail on the head. It is the closest to what I tried to express, but I think that your words put it across a lot better.
@lftmnsch I just finally paid attention to the lyrics of this song recently and found them intriguing and came here to see what others thought. <br /> <br /> Just wanted to say that I found this to be by far the best interpretation of this song out of every one here on this site. I agree that the singer is expressing the point of view of someone who held the girl at bay during their entire relationship and it sounds like he thought he was holding much more power in the relationship. I was particularly struck by the line "Like when you said you were so happy you could die." To me, that quote sounds so disdainful on his part, like whether or not she actually said something like that, that's how he chooses to remember her feelings for him and her experience of their relationship. It's such a teenaged cliche - like he thinks she was shallow and cliched and maybe even not nearly as smart as him. <br /> <br /> Most importantly, he thought she was way more in love with him than he was with her. All he remembers about their relationship is love being an ache and a sadness, nothing good, while he thinks she thought of their relationship both very deeply and importantly, yet also with the depth and intelligence of a Hallmark card. It's really a briliant little line that sounds throwaway, but I think it isn't. <br /> <br /> And I find it interesting that despite his supposedly feeling the relationship was unsatisfying and doomed, he never broke up with her; she's the one who broke up with him. And despite his supposedly being relieved it was over, I agree with you: he's clearly not over her, and in fact her decision to break up seems to have fueled his interest in her to greater heights, in a totally dysfunctional way. <br /> <br /> He sounds less upset that they are not together anymore and more upset that she challenged his sense of the relationship - i.e. that he meant everything to her and she meant little to him. The way she "[made] like it never happened and we were nothing" challenges his sense that he had all the power between them. He doesn't feel betrayed by her leaving him per se, but instead by her actions in the breakup, which he interprets as a challenge to his belief that he was all-important to her.<br /> <br /> Anyway, this is long after the fact, but this was such a breath of fresh air in amongst what seemed to me many wild misinterpretations of this song. Just thought I'd validate you, since you only got two replies, while others that I felt were blatantly wrong got many more.
It's common for people who have abandonment and betrayal issues to focus on the temporary nature of relationships and have an innate inability to trust. Lovers like this (Gotye) often, even in the early and middle stages of relationship, convince themselves they don't need anyone or anything or any love as demonstrated in the lyrics "i guess i don't need that though" and "I don't even need your love."
For these people, the act of loving someone actually hurts, not generally associated with pleasure -- as in "that was love and it's an ache I still remember" -- because of what it inevitably leads to: being hurt and left behind. They associate love directly with pain and they turn off or away from the beloved after brief glimpses of love, intimacy and closeness.
But the attachments are still attachments -- the needs ARE real -- and when the attachments are broken they feel alienated even when they are in agreement it's not working. The protest phase begins...lashing out...blaming... demonstrated by the raised voice in the chorus blaming "you didn't have to cut me off... you didn't have to stoop so low..." (you, you, you...) In the video, notice how the volume of singing is quieter and more revealing and emotionally tender and honest when the lover is naked and alone and he gets louder when he is in her presence, camouflaged and "safe?" He doesn't even look at her when he's singing his protest. His body is rigid. This is genuine fear.
The beloved's (Kimbra's) voice points out the experience of the beloved being blamed for actions that represented previous loss and feeling set up for failure. In the video, notice how the beloved's voice is softer when she's camouflaged, her face is NEVER camouflaged and she is able to look at him. Her body is fluid when it moves. She speaks her truth with poignancy and courage. She's able to say what she wants, "I don't wanna live that way,""Reading into every word you say" and being confused with what damage she caused and what was residual from the past, "had me believing it was always something that I'd done." She clearly has tried to connect and is frustrated by the wall of ridgity and blame she's faced with.
They both have a certain manner of "hiding" to do from one another; these passionate emotions are dangerous and vulnerable. I think the lover is the more damaged of the two. The beloved stands up for herself, is able to walk away. He can't by virtue of it being mostly his song. He's hanging on imaginatively because imaginary, former, lamented relationships are safer than real, challenging current ones. He is called out by his beloved's experience with him being unable to let go of others that he "used to know" in the lyrics "You said that you could let it go / And I wouldn't catch you hung up on somebody that you used to know..."
I think it's interesting that the camouflage is gold, silver and bronze and green and filled with sharp edges. That which we find the most valuable and soft of metals should have such sharp, painful corners. Green symbolizes life. The lover has no green in his camouflage, but his eyes are BRIGHT green. The lover has some green; her eyes are dark. (She's partially healthy). And the lines in the artwork are tiny chains (symbol of burdensome attachment and prison -- how love can imprison us.)
"Somebody i used to know" also is demonstrative of the idea that people are always undergoing change. You may know them now, but you may not know them later...bc the ties to sharing intimate information and experiences has passed.
This song and video both illustrate how relationships in the Western cultures tend to have a certain solidarity and finiteness to them (a concept with more "sharp edges") and we might see this song, because the experience in it is so painful, to look for opportunities to take better care of one another, even as our relationships grow and change...and to take a bit more responsibility for those we love, to move with more fluidity and grace through life and love.
The big question is "how?"
"Told myself that you were right for me,<br /> But felt so lonely in your company"<br /> <br /> shows how the lover intellectualizes his experience with his beloved; he can't "feel" it until it's over and she's gone. It's a sort of paralysis of emotion that happens for a wounded person in intimate relationships.<br /> <br /> "You can get addicted to a certain kind of sadness,<br /> Like resignation to the end, Always the end."<br /> <br /> shows fear of abandonment.
It's such a simple song in lyrics and melody. And yet there is a whole other level to it. Your both right.
perfect response, i completely agree.
This song is pretty easy to understand but some are reading too much into it.
She was so in love with him and he can't understand how he doesn't "own" her anymore. The relationship was too easy for him but that's what he considers love. (Maybe he's incapable of loving back) He was resigned to stay in the relationship because it was effortless on his part but it made him lonely and sad therefore he wasn't upset when it ended. The "sadness" that he was addicted to was the fact that he could do whatever he wanted and still be in complete control of her.
Now he can't deal with the fact that she actually moved on. She realizes what happened. He screwed her over, made her believe it was her own doing. Why would she want him in her life anymore?
He doesn't get it. The dude is more than likely narcissistic.
@lolhahaha The male is a malignant Narcissist. He blames her for everything that is wrong in the relationship rather than be an adult and accepting his responsibility in the toxic relationship. She, the victim, feels screwed over and the only way that she can find peace is to "cut him off", in other words, going "no contact". He\'s angry because he\'s lost his ability to control her in any way. He\'s so bad that she has to send people to retrieve her belongings because she knows he\'ll try to lure her back in and nothing is ever going to change. She\'s accepted that he will never change, he wasn\'t the person that he portrayed himself to be and she has no choice but to move on.
@lolhahaha Omg!!!! you totally nailed it. Definitely a narcissist. <br />